The Pursuit Pedal Plane

The Midwest Museum of American Art took part in a nationwide centennial celebration of the 100 year old American Designer, Viktor Schreckengost, exhibiting his famous Pursuit Pedal Plane. Nearly 130 institutions began exhibiting his works last December 2005 and will continue exhibiting Schreckengost's works until December 2006.

Schreckengost is known for being a pioneer in industrial design, creating thousands of products since the 1930s. Almost every American has used one or more of the products he has designed from storage items to items to cool your rooms with.

The Midwest Museum showcased one of the products Schreckengost is famous for, the "Pursuit Pedal Plane," borrowing from one of the largest pedal car collectors in America, David and Denise Sanders of the Pedal Power Museum in Elkhart.

This toy pedal plane was designed in 1941 for the Murray Company which at that time helped to make the Murray company one of the largest manufacturer of pedal planes and other pedal toy products.

Katharine Lee Reid, Director of The Cleveland Museum of Art, describes Schreckengost as "the last major surviving figure from the first age of industrial design." So, if you are a museum enthusiast, you will not want to miss out on the Schreckengost exhbitions. Just Google "Schrekengost Exhibitions" and you will be able to find information on where the nearest exhbit to you has been or will be.

The Cleveland Museum of Art shares a little of Viktor Schrekengost's pedal plane history with us:

"In the 1940s, Schreckengost's designs for children's pedal cars (as well as bicycles and toys), helped Murray, Ohio become the world's largest manufacturer of pedal cars. His design and ceramic work was interrupted by World War II, when he was recruited by the Navy to develop a system for radar recognition that won him the Secretary of Navy's commendation. After the war, Schreckengost resumed his industrial design career creating products for Murray, Sears, General Electric, Salem China Company, and Harris Printing, among others. Approximately 100 million of his bicycles were manufactured by Murray, making it the largest bicycle-maker in the world. He retired from industrial design in 1972, but continues teaching at the Cleveland Institute of Art."

The Viktor Schreckengost National Centennial Celebration is organized by The Viktor Schreckengost Foundation and Schreckengost Exhibitions in honor of his 100th birthday. Viktor Schreckengost was born on June 26, 1906 in Cleveland, Ohio.